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The Office for National Statistics says prices rose by 5.8 per cent in the year to February, below forecasts among economists for a rise of 6.1 per cent. That’s a rise from the previous month’s 5.3 per cent ascent, but that in itself represents a heavy downward revision; previously the ONS had estimated January’s figure at 6.2 per cent.

The regional split showed that house prices in London rose by just 3.7% year-over-year in March, well below the 6% average rate recorded in the rest of the country. Revisions show that London also underperformed the rest of the U.K. in January for the first time since August 2009. With valuations stretched, employment prospects in the financial sector clouded by Brexit and uncertainty about the outlook for sterling undermining property’s safe-haven appeal for overseas investors, house price growth in London looks set to remain sub-par throughout 2017.